The present invention relates generally to fishing reels of the type having a bail wire mechanism to control positioning of fishing line, and more particularly to fishing line deployment and retrieval elements of a fishing reel.
Typically, in a spinning fishing reel there is a bail wire mechanism for the control and positioning of a fishing line. The bail wire mechanism, attached to the rotor by brackets, is positioned to allow for deployment and retrieval of fishing line, and to ensure a proper line winding function. The winding mechanism of a fishing reel typically consists of a rotor, a primary bracket, a secondary bracket, a holding mechanism, a trip mechanism and a bail wire mechanism. The bail wire mechanism is held onto the rotor by the primary bracket and the secondary bracket.
In general, the bail wire mechanism is lifted up or rotated by the user such as to prevent interference with the line when the line is released during casting.
Typically, when casting takes place, the fishing line is stripped from the spool at an extremely rapid rate, and interference with the line can result in impaired casting distance and snagging or tangling of the line. During casting, the bail wire mechanism is usually referred to as being “open” and is held in the open position by a holding mechanism. After casting, to return the bail wire mechanism from the open status to the close status, a trip mechanism is used. In the closed state, the bail wire mechanism guides the fishing line around the spool for storage thereon. It is important to users that the bail wire mechanism should reliably stay in the open or close condition to eliminate an accidental closing or opening. Accidental closing would prevent the user from achieving the desired casting distance, and accidental opening may result in an interruption of line retrieval or loss of line control when, for instance, a fish is caught. Premature bail closing also would result in the line deployment being instantly arrested. Such a condition could result in a broken line, or could easily pose a safety risk due to a “whip back” of the tensioned line and associated fishing gear such as hooks and lures. In addition, the operation of the reel should be smooth so as to allow for optimal control of the reel and associated rod. Ideally, the bail mechanism should be simply constructed so as to allow a user to easily assemble and disassemble the mechanism easily for cleaning or maintenance of the reel.
Conventionally reels separate the bail holding mechanisms and the bail release mechanisms by placing them at opposing sides of the rotor. This results in the rotor being required to encase a portion of the bail wire mechanisms at a secondary bracket side as well as on a primary bracket side of the rotor. This requirement prevents special shaped rotors being formed for example to distribute weight about the rotor central axis for smooth operation, or to reduce weight of the reel. Furthermore, when the holding and release mechanisms are separated on the rotor, a seizing effect of the reel will occur during release since the bail wire mechanism must transmit the release force across the rotor.
An alternative design in some conventional devices is to position the holding and trip mechanisms on the same rotor side. However, these devices utilize a holding mechanism of a complex design that utilize short links between the primary bracket and the holding mechanism spring. This imparts a well-known rough and erratic operational characteristics to the reel, most notably during the tripping of the bail wire. This is because, among other things, the incorporation of the short link causes a larger compression on the spring during the transition from the open position to the closed position. In addition, the conventional mechanism does not allow a user to easily maintain the reel since reassembly of the reel is extremely difficult.